I'm Proud of Him
by OutsidersFanatic
Summary: Lucy Winston's had a hard life. With an alcoholic mother and a nonexistent father, after her brother was sent to reform school she's been pretty much on her own. Facing the daily struggle of surviving in New York's East Side, she's learned how to roll with the punches. However, moving to Oklahoma for her mother's job bring an unexpected challenge- facing Dallas Winston.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, here we go. I've finally decided to rewrite this story. Essentially, the story is very much the same, but I've tweaked it quite a bit. Basically, just treat it as an whole new story. I hope you guys enjoy. Reviews and constructive criticism are lovely, as always.**

**S.E. Hinton owns **_**The Outsiders**_**.**

"So this is it, huh?"

Lucy, standing in the doorway of her new bedroom, was unimpressed. She walked in and set the box she was holding on the floor. She took a closer look at the room.

The wallpaper, which appeared to have once been a nice shade of lavender, was peeling, and the plaster behind it was falling off in clumps. Eyeing it with distaste, Lucy bent down to pick up a piece of the rubble that had fallen to the floor. She turned it over in her hand a few times before slowly crumbling it to dust.

_Crumbling to nothingness. Just like me. _Lucy heaved a sigh before walking over to the bed and dropping onto it. The springs sagged and creaked under her weight, only adding to her growing dislike of the place.

"Lucy?" Her mother's head appeared in the doorway.

Lucy sighed again, not meeting her mother's gaze. "What do you want, Ma?"

"I'm going to the store. Do you want anything?"

"Something other than booze," she muttered, rising to her feet and making her way across the room.

Her mother turned to face her, her hand on her hip. "I'm not gonna take any sass from you, young lady. I don't care how much this move affected you, you oughta be damn grateful I took you out of that place."

Lucy waved her off. "Right, Ma. Whatever you say. Get whatever, I don't care."

"You better drop that attitude before I get back, or they'll be trouble," she warned.

Lucy shrugged. "Sure. Can't wait for it."

Her mother gave her a long look before finally leaving, shaking her head and muttering, "Ungrateful brat, she better learn some manners or I don't know what I'll do." She stopped before leaving the house, calling over her shoulder, "You oughta get out today, get used to the town. Ain't gonna have much time for that once school starts."

"Yeah, in a month." Lucy rolled her eyes, but bit back a retort. A fight with her mother wasn't what she needed right now. And she was right- it'd be good to take a look around. At the very least, it'd beat sitting here watching the walls fall apart.

xXxXxXx

It was cool for August, even more so considering this was Tulsa, Oklahoma. There was a light wind, just enough to keep the deadly heat waves at bay. At any rate, it was blowing her hair- she had to brush the blonde locks out of her face as she paused to consider just where she intended to go.

Seeing as she didn't have the slightest idea of where she was or where she might be headed, Lucy decided to simply wander around the streets and hope she might come across something‒or someone. She wasn't stupid, by any means. Living on the bad side of New York for the previous half of her life meant she had plenty of street smarts and knew how to handle herself. Of course, wandering around in a strange city with not a single person she knew was certainly not the smartest thing to do, but then again, Lucy had never been in the habit of stopping to consider the consequences of her actions.

And so it was because of this that she wound up at a gas station. She'd been outside for about 20 minutes‒ time enough for Lucy to realize just what Tulsa summers were like. The wind had dropped, and the sun was blazing at full force. At any rate, she had since discovered there was some change in her pocket, and this gas station was sure to be selling some sort of beverage. Without a second thought, she walked up to the store and pushed the door open with the tinkle of a bell.

She was pleasantly surprised to feel the cooling air of a fan somewhere in her vicinity. She found the soda case, grabbed herself a bottle of cola, and strode purposely over to the counter. The town had seemed rather dull so far‒ perhaps she could get some information out of the clerk.

"Hey there."

Lucy looked up into the last thing she expected to see out of a gas station clerk. He was a teenage boy, seemingly around her own age, with heavily greased dark blonde hair. His expression was quite cheerful‒his eyes incredibly bright and lively‒ as he looked at her, apparently expecting an answer.

"Hi." Lucy batted her eyelashes at him with a half smile. She slapped her bottle on the counter and slid her money across to him.

"You new around here?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow. He was apparently unimpressed by her short display. Not that she blamed him- judging by his looks alone, the guy had had more than his fair share of girls over the years.

She debated whether or not to answer him honestly‒ after all, not like she'd ever see him again. But then again, what reason did she have to lie about it? "Yeah. Got here this morning, actually. I was hoping to ask you about that."

The boy looked puzzled. "Ask me about what?"

Lucy glanced around the store, as if looking for a response, before settling on one. "You know," she gestured around the shelves, "the scoop on the town. Where to go, where to find people, where everyone hangs out. I don't intend to spend the entire month until school starts again alone."

He nodded in understanding. "The Dingo," he said. "It's just down the road. If not, you could always try the Ribbon, but you'd be more likely to run into some Socs there."

"Some what?" Lucy's brow furrowed.

"You know, the rich snobs. The Socials. Otherwise, not greasers." He gestured to his hair.

Lucy nodded, comprehension dawning. This boy‒like herself‒ was one of the poor class. She knew greasers. New York had been full of them. She figured by this point she'd wasted enough of his time, so she made her leave.

"Right, thank you. I guess I'll see you around..." She trailed off then, only now realized she hadn't learned his name yet.

"Soda." He grinned, and the effect made Lucy's heart skip a beat. He must have this effect on everyone, she thought. Lucky bastard.

"I'm Lucy," she stated, offering him a smile before flicking her hair and walking out the door.

xXxXxXx

Though she trusted that Soda had given her good advice, Lucy decided to head home after leaving the gas station. She still didn't know anyone (other than Soda) and figured staying in her ramshackle new house would be better than traipsing about town with nothing to do and nothing to see. Besides, her mother might be home by now, and she was starving.

As she neared the house, she saw their beaten up station wagon in the drive and thus knew that her mother had returned from her shopping trip. Praying that she had remembered to buy some sort of edible food, Lucy entered the house.

"Ma?" She called, hoping her mother had not yet gotten into whatever alcohol she had undoubtedly bought. "You home?"

"Luce? Come here, will you?"

Lucy followed her mother's voice into the living room and sat down on the old couch. "What do you want?"

"Your brother's here," she said without preamble.

Lucy's jaw dropped. "What?" She could barely squeak the word out. She hurriedly looked around, but didn't see any open or empty bottles around. "What are you talking about?"

Her mother closed her eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again and started to explain. "Richard brought him here. When he got out of the reformatory."

Richard. The name formed a question in Lucy's mind, but her mother answered it before she could ask.

"His father. You won't know him. I was forced to keep in touch, because of your brother. Richard insisted he be 'part of his life'. Load of bullshit. Never heard from the bastard again until he decided to move them both down here."

"Ma," Lucy began, then reconsidered what she was about to say. She had to phrase this carefully, for one of the only things she remembered about her brother was that he and their mother had never gotten along very well. "Ma..."

"Dallas is here, Lucy. Here in Tulsa."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Whoo, chapter two! I'd like to thank you all for the support. It is all very much appreciated. **

**I plan on updating at least once a week, depending on what kind of mood I'm in.**

* * *

Lucy gaped at her, not knowing how to respond. "How do you know?" She finally said.

Her mother sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Richard told me, right before they left. Told me he was bringing him 'away from this shithole'. He's around here somewhere. Don't ask me where, I don't know where." She paused, getting up and walking to the kitchen. "And don't go looking for him either. No telling what he's become now. No, you stay away from him, Luce. "

Lucy followed her into the kitchen. "Why?" She prodded. "Don't you want to see him? We haven't seen him in so long." When her mother didn't respond, she added, "He's your son, for God's sake, Ma. Haven't you missed him, at least a little?"

Her mother, having located a bottle of whiskey, sat down heavily in one of the old, wooden kitchen chairs. "No, and neither should you. The son of a bitch is too much like his father. I don't want to see either of them."

_You just called yourself a bitch, then, _Lucy thought. "Right. Okay. I promise I won't go looking for my crazy older brother."

Her mother ignored her once again, choosing instead to take a swig from the bottle. With a sigh, Lucy turned on her heel and headed to her room.

xXxXxXx

Flouncing back onto her bed, Lucy's thoughts wandered until they settled upon her brother.

_Dallas_. The name sounded foreign to her, though she could picture him perfectly in her mind's eye. A tall, blonde haired, blue eyed kid‒ much like her. Daring, cocky, and full of attitude‒ well, there were some similarities there, she'd be the last to deny it. Her attitude, if nothing else, was one thing she'd picked up from him in the short time they'd lived together. With a start, Lucy realized that he'd be eighteen by now. Eight years; that was how long ago he'd left for reform school, never to return.

Lucy tore herself away from these thoughts. She didn't want to think about him. She didn't want to remember him. And she definitely didn't want to be living anywhere near him.

xXxXxXx

The door slammed open, bringing with it a blast of hot air. Ponyboy looked up from the television to discover Dallas Winston standing in the doorway.

"Hey, kid," Dally greeted him, plopping next to him on the sofa.

"Hey Dally." Pony and Dally's relationship had improved in the months that passed after the whole fiasco with Windrixville. They'd both experienced it, and both lost someone extremely close to them. True, Johnny had been friends with everyone in the gang, but both Dally and Pony had had a special relationship with him.

"Your brothers home?" Dally asked, picking his teeth.

"Nah, they're at work. Two-Bit's here, though."

Two-Bit chose that moment to make his appearance, surfacing from the kitchen, mouth full of food. "Hey Dal," he garbled, spewing bits of cake out as he talked.

"Man, that's nasty, Mathews. Swallow before you talk next time, okay?" Dally responded, disgusted.

Two-Bit swallowed and shrugged, sitting down across from them. "We doin' anything today?"

Dally lit a cigarette, and took a puff before answering. "Sure. Saturday, ain't it? Always something fun to do."

Pony didn't look at him, knowing full well his definition of "fun" differed greatly from Dally's. Not to mention Darry's. "We could go get Soda and Steve first, they oughta be getting off work soon."

Two-Bit shrugged again. "Might as well. They ain't gonna be happy if they find out we went out without them."

Dally considered this, then nodded. "Right, we'll go pay a visit to the DX first, then. I ain't waiting long, though. I need some action tonight."

xXxXxXx

"Curtis, Randle! Get your asses out to the pumps!"

Steve smirked at Soda. "Yeah, Curtis," he said, "go out and start earning your pay."

"Shut up," Soda replied good-naturedly, leaping to his feet and heading out the door of the break room. "You're comin' too."

Steve got up and followed him out. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just glad our shift's almost over. We better be going out tonight," he grumbled.

"Hello boys!"

The sound of that voice only made Steve's grumbling worsen. "Great," he muttered. "Just what we need."

The boys found Two-Bit sitting atop the hood of the jumble of metal that he called his car. Waving cheerily to them, he nearly slapped Ponyboy in the face. Dally was leaning against the pump, a cigarette between his lips.

"What do you want?" Steve asked resignedly. He hated to look at Two-Bit's car, much less work on it. He desperately hoped that wasn't what they had come for.

"We were just wondering what you boys would be up to doing later on," Dally said, smirking.

"Anything," Soda responded desperately, only half joking.

Dally laughed. "Alright. How 'bout we head down to the Dingo when you guys get off work, and later on we can make our way to Buck's," He tried to say this while discreetly indicating Pony, which unfortunately didn't work. Pony's face reddened, but Soda tried to come to his defense.

"Aw, Pony's 15 now. He can come, can't he?"

Steve shot him a glare, but didn't say anything.

Pony stared at his feet. "Nah, you guys can go. I'll go home, it's fine."

Dally looked first to Soda, who looked disappointed, then to Pony, who looked embarrassed. He shrugged. "Y'all figure it out. I don't give a shit."

Steve glanced at their boss, who nodded resignedly, then turned excitedly to Soda. "Alright, we're done, man. Let's get goin'."

xXxXxXx

_Knock, knock._

"Lucy! Answer the door!"

Lucy ambled out of her room, saw her mother half drunk on the couch, and shook her head, disgusted. She hoped whoever it was wouldn't judge her because of the state of their house and her mom.

She pulled open the front door to reveal a girl who appeared about her own age. She was smiling brightly, holding a cake out in front of her.

"Hi there. I'm Evie. We live across the street, and saw you move in earlier. My ma told me to bring this to you, to help you settle in or something."

Lucy took a closer look at her. Her long, brown hair was piled into a bouffant and her green eyes were bright. Figuring it wouldn't do any harm, she invited the girl in.

She stepped politely into the house, grinned at Lucy through bright red lips, and was seemingly waiting for her to say something. With a start, Lucy realized she hadn't even introduced herself.

"I'm Lucy," she said with a small smile, leading Evie towards the kitchen.

Evie's grin seemed only to grow, if that were even possible. "Great, now that we're all introduced, I'll have to give you the skinny on what goes on around here. You don't know anyone, right?" As they passed the sofa, she waved at Lucy's mom, who appeared not to notice. She didn't comment on this, for which Lucy was grateful.

"Not really."

"Not really? So, you've met some people then? Who? When? If you wanna survive in this town, you gotta know the right people."

It occured to Lucy at this point that Evie was one of those people that never ran out of things to say. It also occured to her that she had perhaps made a friend in the span of about 30 seconds. Grinning at the prospect, she answered, "Well, I met this guy named Soda at the gas-"

"Oh, Soda Curtis," Evie interrupted. "I know him. He's a sweetheart. Best friends with my boyfriend, did you meet Steve? No? Well, we'll have time for that. He's an ass, but I love him. Anyway, as I was saying, you gotta know the right people. The people you hang out with define who you are, even if you ain't like them. So it's important that you hang out with the right people. Like me, for instance." Here she paused, finally, to stare at Lucy. "We're friends, right?"

Lucy grinned. "Of course we are," she answered, laughing lightly.

Evie smiled. "Perfect. So, you've got me. I can introduce you to some other people when we go to the Dingo later, we might run into Steve and Soda there, maybe some of their other friends...and then you've gotta meet Roxanne, she's a card. Oh, and Kathy, of course."

"Now..." Evie's voice had lowered to a whisper. "There's a couple people who ya gotta watch out for. Sylvia, for one. She acts like she's all nicey-nice, but Luce, that's a whore if there ever was one. She can be useful, don't get me wrong, but don't get on her bad side."

"What about Socs? Who are they?" Lucy asked, suddenly remembered Soda's warning from earlier.

"Socs? Oh God, stay clear of them. The boys are just nasty, they'll do anything to hurt a grease just because of where we live. When I think of what Steve's looked like after messing with them..." Her eyes started welling up with tears, which she hurriedly swiped away. "But stay away from them. They're mean, Lucy, and they don't give a damn about anybody's well being 'cuz they get away with just about everything."

"Are there Soc girls?" Lucy said, who was starting to get slightly uncomfortable. She'd met more than her fair share of boys that fit the description of the Socs back in New York, but she wasn't exactly eager to make the acquaintance of the resident assholes of Tulsa.

"Oh, of course. Snobby rich bitches," Evie sniffed.

Lucy nodded, then stood up. "Where are we going then?" She asked, grinning. She'd had enough of this talk‒ she wanted to get out.

Evie tapped her chin with her fingers. "We'd be best off at the Dingo. There's sure to be plenty of people there by now." With that, she looped her arm through Lucy's and nearly dragged her out the door and down the street.

xXxXxXx

"This is it?" Lucy asked when they stopped, staring at the building in front of them.

"Yeah, it don't look like much, but trust me, there's plenty going on inside."

The two girls walked through the door, and Lucy instantly saw what Evie meant. Music was blasting from jukeboxes, and the place was the packed with teenagers, all talking or shouting at each other. The place would seem chaotic to most newcomers, but Lucy was used to noise, hustle and bustle, and just being around this many people, so that she felt more at home now than she had yet in Tulsa.

Evie pointed at a group of girls in the corner. "There's Kathy and the rest. C'mon, I'll introduce you." And so, being marched purposefully along by her guide, Lucy made her way through the throngs of people to their destination.

"Guys, this is Lucy. She's new here. I figured I'd show her the ropes," she said, winking at Lucy.

The group of girls all smiled cheerfully at her, seemingly welcoming enough. Within a few minutes, Lucy felt herself fitting in easily. Then again, she was nothing if not adaptable.

"I'm Kathy." A tall blonde grinned at Lucy, smacking her gum and flicking her bangs out of her eyes. "You seem nice."

The girl next to her snorted. "You think everyone's nice, Kat."

"No, but look at her! Don't she look like a nice person?"

The other, rolled her eyes. "Roxanne," she said, by way of greeting. "Where you from, honey?"

"New York," Lucy replied, leaning back against the seat. Even saying the name of the place made the memories come flooding back.

"Oh, I've always wanted to go to New York. It seems like such a fun place. There cute boys there?" Roxanne asked, smiling slyly. She plumped her hair and stared at her reflection in the back of a spoon.

Lucy quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, a few. Too rough for me, though, that's what I moved down here," she said jokingly.

"Oof, if that's the case, steer clear of the Shepard's. Their whole gang, for that matter."

Roxanne punched Kathy. "And what do ya mean by that, huh?"

"Rox, we all know Curly ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer..."

As the two started another argument, Evie called out, "Hey, Steve's here! And Soda! Oh, I guess they all came. There's Pony, and Two-Bit..." She'd spotted her boyfriend and his friends making their way through the crowds, and she hoped they'd come over. Otherwise she'd have to scout him out herself, and that was way too much work.

"Two-Bit's here?" Kathy asked, surprised. "I didn't know he got out."

"He's been out for about a week, Kath. Besides, I thought you dumped him," Evie turned to look at her friend.

"Well, yeah, but he still should've told me." Kathy crossed her arms over her chest in contempt.

Roxanne sniggered, but something else had caught Evie's attention. "Oh, Dally's here too! Figured he'd be over at Bucks' by now."

Lucy frowned. That name had triggered something in her brain. "Wait...Dally?"

"Dallas Winston. Haven't you heard of him?"

* * *

**Yes, I'm making you wait until the next chapter to have them meet. This will be interesting. Hope you guys enjoyed. As always, your input is much appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a busy few weeks. Hopefully I'll get into a more regular pattern now. Also apologize for the shorter length of this chapter.**

**I do not own The Outsiders.**

* * *

Lucy abruptly stood. "I need to get out of here."

Evie stared at her, her brow puckering in confusion. "Why? What's wrong, Luce?"

Lucy just shook her head. She couldn't explain, not now, not here. _Not when he's here, anyway_. "I just...I need to get home. My mom needs help...unpacking," she fibbed.

Evie opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Hello, ladies." Two-Bit soared over to their table, sliding into a vacant seat. He winked at Kathy. "How have my girls been?"

Kathy gave him an icy stare, but didn't respond to him. Roxanne sniggered and Evie coughed to hide her amusement, for they both knew just how much their friend had missed Two-Bit since their most recent break-up.

Two-Bit raised his eyebrows at her, but then Lucy caught his attention. "What's this? A new young'un? A blonde too!" He grinned at Lucy.

_Too late._ Lucy thought, sliding back into her seat. Perhaps she could avoid the questions...

"Goddamn it, Two-Bit, leave her alone!" Kathy cried suddenly, slapping a hand on the table. She jumped to her feet, her face red in anger.

Two-Bit stared up at her in confusion. "Man, Kath, it was just a joke!" He looked alarmed at her sudden temper; Lucy felt sort of bad for him.

She stood fuming at him for another moment, before sitting down again, scowling. She hardly glanced at him for the rest of the time they were there.

"Anyway, sweets, you got a name?" Two-Bit asked, once again turning his attention to Lucy.

"Um, Lucy. Lucy Winston," she answered, twirling the ends of her hair in her fingers. She was feeling incredibly nervous, which was a strange feeling for her. Then again, the thought that her brother was nearby was also incredibly strange.

Two-Bit nodded. "Lucy. I like it. You new around-" he broke off as if suddenly realizing something. "Hold on. Did you just say your last name was _Winston_?" He looked at her in disbelief, as if he'd never seen anything quite like her before.

Lucy nodded, growing ever more apprehensive. "Why?"

Two-Bit could do nothing but gape at her, opening and closing his mouth with no words coming out.

Evie and Kathy both turned to look at her in shock. "You didn't tell us that."

Lucy shrugged, attempting to grin and make it off as a joke, not exactly succeeding. "It, uh, never came up."

"But, but...Dallas..." Two-Bit stammered, attempting to string together a sentence. "Is Dallas..."

They were interrupted by a crowd of boys making their way towards their table, all quite loud, and shoving each other as they attempted to get through the crowds in the drive-in. Lucy couldn't see who they were, not that she'd know them, but as it was she could hardly tell how many there were. As they extracted themselves from the crowd, she spotted Soda amongst the handful of teenage boys. Another looked around their age, with a scowl on his face, and there was two younger looking boys. And the last of them had a mop of light blonde hair, the same shade as hers.

_Oh god. Oh my fucking god. Not now. Not. Now. _

"Steve!" Delighted, Evie started bobbing around in her seat, not wanting to get up but clearly eager to see him. The scowling kid brightened when he saw her. When he squished next to her on the bench, she turned her head and pecked him on the cheek.

"Geez, Evie, not right now," Steve grumbled, though he could not stop the corners of his mouth from quirking up at her reaction to his presence.

"Ah, Steve, don't try to be such a badass. We all know you love the attention," Soda joked. He spotted Lucy within seconds. "Oh, hey! Lucy, right?"

Lucy, who was attempting to blend into the wall, nodded mutely. She wished desperately that Soda hadn't said her name. She was keeping a careful watch on the blonde‒who so far hadn't even looked in their direction, indeed having walked off‒for any sort of sign. Any recognition. Most of her hoped that he wouldn't, that she'd just be another new girl in the town. But part of her hoped that he'd turn around, his face full of shock making way for delight at the reunion. She knew this would never be true‒one thing she remembered about Dallas was that he didn't like to show his emotions‒ but that didn't mean she didn't secretly wish it.

"Man, I think that's a new record. Rest of us haven't even seen this girl before and Soda already knows her name." This earned Steve a punch to the arm.

"Hey, we all know it's true. You're like a magnet, man, all the girls just come to you."

"What now?" The bored drawl came from the blonde, finally rejoining the group after a failed attempt at flirting with a waitress.

Lucy could barely contain a nervous whimper from escaping her. She swore under her breath and forced herself to calm down. She didn't look up; she wasn't ready for that just yet. Focusing on the tabletop in front of her, Lucy attempted to tune the rest of them out. Much as she had feared this, she was almost eager to see him, to hear his voice. It'd been so long‒and she wasn't sure what to expect.

"Hey, what do we have here? New broad?"

_So strange, yet so familiar._ Lucy could almost hear the smirk in that statement. She couldn't bear it anymore, she couldn't handle this. Steeling herself, she forced herself to look up, staring straight into those wild blue eyes.

The effect was almost instantaneous. His jaw dropped, his eyebrows shot up, and he nearly fell backwards as he stepped away from the table. He looked as if he'd been hit with a brick. He attempted to recover his nonchalance quickly, but a shock like that isn't easy to cover up, not even for Dallas Winston.

Lucy's eyes started to water. She wanted so badly to just look away, to pretend he wasn't even there, but to break eye contact was impossible. She couldn't take her gaze off him. She took in every detail of his person‒his wispy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, worn leather jacket, confident slouch, and that cocky smirk that had seemed a permanent fixture but, for the moment, had disappeared.

Dallas shook himself, allowed himself one final stare at Lucy, then turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd.

The table had grown silent, and now all heads turned to stare at Lucy. Shock and disbelief was written on every face, with a hefty amount of confusion on the part of the boys.

"Okay, what was _that_ all about?" Soda finally voiced, running a hand through his hair. His brow was creased in confusion, and her stared at Lucy as if he'd never seen her before.

"I-I..." Lucy stammered, having no idea how on earth to explain this.

"He's..." Evie began, attempting to help before glancing at Lucy helplessly and stopping. Her expression was one of pity‒ after all, how often is one in a situation like this?

Lucy took a deep breath before spitting out, "He's my brother."

* * *

**Again, really sorry for the delay on this chapter. Hopefully future updates will come much quicker. Hope you guys enjoyed, and please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm incredibly sorry for taking so long to update, but I've been really busy lately and haven't really had the time to sit down and write. Hope you all enjoy this (possibly) long-awaited chapter. **

Everyone at the table was silent for a long, anxious moment, and then suddenly erupted into noise. Almost everyone was trying to talk at the same time, some voicing questions, incredulous exclamations, or demands for knowing more. Lucy could barely comprehend anything that was going on in the hullabaloo, never mind actually respond.

"Everyone shut up!" She finally shouted, after struggling a few times to make herself heard. Eventually the chaos lowered to the occasional mutter or whisper, and the tension in Lucy's back relaxed. She sagged in her seat, exhausted all of a sudden. The adrenaline and shock of finally seeing Dallas had left her instantaneously. She wasn't about to go chase after him, and she certainly wasn't in the mood to answer all that many questions about him, either. But she supposed something would have to be said, or they'd never let up, no matter that none of them really knew who she was.

Evie seemed to come to the realization that Lucy wasn't in the condition to be descended upon by a pack of confused and excited teenager boys, and she attempted to steer the attention away from her new friend. "Look guys, it ain't that big a deal. Why don't we just order something, okay? I'm starving."

"Nice try, Eve, but we ain't budging 'till we get some answers." Steve gave her an icy glare, and she crossed her arms and "hmph!"ed in response.

"Yeah, Dal's never told none of us that he's got a kid sister. I wanna know why he's kept it a secret." Two-Bit added, leaning forward until he was almost laying on the table.

Lucy sat in silence, unsure of what to do. What she really wanted to do was get out of here and go home, but running away wouldn't make the best first impression, and if those were anything to go by, these people might be her best shot at making friends. A summer filled with spending all day cleaning up after her mother didn't sound appealing, but it almost sounded preferable to answering uncomfortable questions about a brother she really knew nothing about. Despite her indecisiveness, the problem was pretty much answered for her; there was no way for her to get out of the booth without making a huge scene, seeing as she was pressed between the wall and Evie, never mind the fact that a wall of boys sat in front of the table.

"I...look, I don't know why Dally's never told you anything about me, but I barely know anything about him, and I doubt he even remembered me until now. I'm not going to be able to answer any questions you've got, 'cuz I couldn't even tell you about myself, let alone him. You can try, but you ain't gonna get anything out of me. And that's all I've got to say about it," Lucy said firmly, deciding it'd be best to face it head on, stay stubborn, and not reveal anything personal if she could help it.

No one except Kathy looked convinced, but almost everything could tell that that was all they were going to get at this point. Roxanne narrowed her gaze and Evie stared at her intently, but only Two-Bit spoke.

"Mysterious, eh? Interesting. Just like ol' Dally. Wonder what else you two got in common, 'sides your hair." Two-Bit stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Two-Bit!" Kathy exclaimed indignantly, smacking him on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Soda stood up, the legs of his chair scraping against the floor as he pushed it back. "I say we leave the ladies alone and get on with our day, aye?" He said this with a wink and a grin for Lucy, who scowled at him, and though there were some protests on the part of one Two-Bit Mathews pretty soon everyone followed him away and the girls were once again alone. As soon as they were sure the guys were out of earshot, they turned expectantly to Lucy.

She simply shook her head. "I gotta get home."

Kathy quirked an eyebrow and Evie smirked. "Well, we best get you on home, then." She stood, brushed some crumbs off her skirt, and turned to the others. "Be at my house by six." With that, she walked towards the door, Lucy quickly following after her.

Once they were outside and things were finally quiet enough to have a normal conversation, Lucy turned to Evie and demanded, "What do you mean, 'be at your house by six'?"

Fishing around in her bag for a cigarette, Evie paused to light up and take a drag before starting to walk. "I said I was taking you home." When she say the puzzled look on Lucy's face, she laughed. "What, you didn't think I meant to _your_ house, did you?"

xXxXxXx

"Man, that was wild."

No one needed to ask Two-Bit what he meant‒they all just nodded.

"I mean, here I was, thinking we was just going to the Dingo, all normal-like, and then bam! We find out Dally's got a secret kid sister, who seems remarkably like him, incidentally, and we don't get no explanation or nothin'. Seems kinda fishy to me."

"Two-Bit, would you really want to parade around the fact that good ol' Dallas Winston is your brother?" Steve asked. Not that Steve didn't like Dally, but he'd make one shitty older brother. Especially to a girl.

Pony cast a sideways glance at Johnny, who he knew idolized Dallas. Johnny caught his look and shrugged. He knew that they all knew how he looked up to Dally; it didn't need to be said aloud. He didn't want to cause any trouble. Besides, even Johnny could admit that Dally, although cool, tough and famous-in other words, everything Johnny wanted to be- was also dangerous, reckless, and violent if he wanted to be. He would certainly not play the role of "brother" as well as someone like, say, Darry. Or even Two-Bit.

Two-Bit shook his head. "If there's one thing I know, that kid's got some real trouble heading her way."

xXxXxXx

It took Dally until he'd reached the next block to regain his composure. Once we was sure no one was following him, he slumped against the brick wall of the building behind him, taking deep breaths. In, out. In, out. Closing his eyes, he struggled to clear his head of all the thoughts swirling around in there. Thoughts he did _not_ want to be thinking right now. When his heartbeat returned to normal and he could no longer feel a charge of adrenaline running through him, he opened his eyes, ran a hand through his hair, and reviewed his options.

He could, theoretically, track her down and get some much-needed answers out of her. Dally dismissed this almost immediately‒no way in hell was he going to run around town like a lovesick teenage girl searching for his "long lost sister". He'd ruin his reputation, for one thing, and for another, he really had no desire to see her anytime in the near future.

He could go back to the Dingo. However, seeing as he'd just run out of there for no apparent reason, he'd be subjected to unpleasant questions and people were sure to form their own opinions, regardless of whatever story he concocted to tell them. So that seemed out too.

He could also head to the Curtis'. He'd seen the guys at the Dingo, obviously, but there was a chance they were still there. Though he had no problem waiting at the house, they also were likely to have questions, and he would have no answers to give them. If they'd stuck around to cozy up to her, it'd be that much worse for him.

His last option was to seek out Shepard. It was still too early to head to Buck's, really, but Dally figured he could find Tim relatively easily and he'd help divert his attention from this horrific start to a day. Reasoning that he could at least attempt to make something of the day, Dally headed off towards the railroad tracks. If nothing else, getting punched in the face would be a nice distraction.


End file.
